Vail to distribute East Vail parking placards Sept. 18

VAIL — In preparation for the likelihood of winter road closures on Interstate 70, the Code Enforcement Team from the Vail Police Department will be greeting motorists in the East Vail neighborhood on Wednesday, Sept. 18 to help distribute vehicle access placards issued by the police department.

The free placards help improve access to East Vail neighborhoods during I-70 closures and are available for free to all requesting households. The distribution will take place from 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at 3801 Bighorn Road, on the north side of the shoulder, the entrance to the Bighorn park and ride. The bright yellow placards are also available from the Vail Police front counter, located at 75 South Frontage Road, during regular office hours from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

By displaying the vehicle access placard during an interstate closure, East Vail residents who regularly travel to and from neighborhoods east of Aspen Lane will be directed through an eastbound checkpoint on the South Frontage Road East, at Ford Park, for expedited access to their neighborhood. All remaining traffic will be directed to park in the Vail Village and Lionshead parking structures until I-70 is reopened.

In addition to the placard distribution, officers will be available to answer questions about the new travel restrictions to be used this winter by the Colorado Department of Transportation. The restrictions require owners of two-wheel drive vehicles with standard tires to carry traction equipment on I-70 between milepost 133 (Dotsero) and milepost 259 (Morrison) from Sept. 1 through May 31. It also increases the minimum tread depth for tires on all vehicles — including those with four-wheel drive — from an eighth of an inch to three-sixteenths of an inch.

What this means is that going forward, all motorists are required to either have an all-wheel or four-wheel-drive vehicle, or snow tires or all-season tires with a mud/snow designation and if they do not, they must carry chain devices throughout winter. Variable message signs along I-70 as well as 511 traveler information and http://www.cotrip.org will be used to notify motorists of when traction/chain law comes in effect.

Since MIRA launched on July 29, 2018, it has recorded 140 days of operation. A total of 2,812 people have received services or been connected to other resources through MIRA as it visited 40 neighborhoods in Eagle County.